The U.S. government is about to conduct the largest $BTC selloff in history, with approximately 69,370 Bitcoins expected to be sold, with a market value of approximately $4.4 billion. The bitcoins came from Silk Road darknet trading platform assets that were seized in 2013. In the latest ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Battle Born Investments, a company that claimed it had acquired legal rights to the bitcoins through bankruptcy proceedings. The court’s decision means the U.S. government will be able to legally liquidate these Bitcoins.
The sale of Bitcoins will be handled by the U.S. Department of Security and could become the largest sale of seized crypto assets in history. According to reports, the government has begun gradually transferring some of the seized Bitcoins. By the end of July, the Justice Department had moved $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, and by mid-August it had moved another $593.5 million worth of BTC. According to market observations, the Bitcoins will likely be hosted by Coinbase Prime and may be sold via over-the-counter (OTC) transactions to reduce market shock.
Some experts pointed out that this massive sell-off may be related to the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Economist Peter Schiff believes that Trump’s remarks may push the current Biden administration to accelerate the sell-off process of Bitcoin and avoid suspending the sell-off plan due to Trump’s possible election.
While the market is bracing for a potential sell-off, a sudden increase in Bitcoin's supply could put downward pressure on the price, especially if the sell-off is too large and too fast. However, if the sale proceeds gradually or primarily through over-the-counter transactions, the market impact may be limited.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin price is around $61,003, down 1.96% in the past 24 hours. Market volatility has intensified, and investors need to do a good job in risk management.
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